In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are a multitude of methods market participants can use to watch stocks. A duo of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top investment managers can outpace the broader indices by a very impressive margin (see just how much).
Equally as key, optimistic insider trading activity is another way to analyze the world of equities. Obviously, there are a number of stimuli for a bullish insider to drop shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would behave bullishly. Plenty of academic studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this strategy if “monkeys” know where to look (learn more here).
Thus, let’s examine the recent info surrounding Jones Lang LaSalle Inc (NYSE:JLL).
What have hedge funds been doing with Jones Lang LaSalle Inc (NYSE:JLL)?
Heading into Q3, a total of 19 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 19% from the first quarter. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings substantially.
When using filings from the hedgies we track, David Blood and Al Gore’s Generation Investment Management had the most valuable position in Jones Lang LaSalle Inc (NYSE:JLL), worth close to $178.5 million, comprising 3.4% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Ariel Investments, managed by John W. Rogers, which held a $169.9 million position; the fund has 2.8% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other peers with similar optimism include Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates, Rob Butts and Josh Clark’s Southpoint Capital Advisors and Ken Heebner’s Capital Growth Management.
As aggregate interest spiked, certain bigger names have jumped into Jones Lang LaSalle Inc (NYSE:JLL) headfirst. Generation Investment Management, managed by David Blood and Al Gore, assembled the biggest position in Jones Lang LaSalle Inc (NYSE:JLL). Generation Investment Management had 178.5 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. John W. Rogers’s Ariel Investments also made a $169.9 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new JLL investors: Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates, Rob Butts and Josh Clark’s Southpoint Capital Advisors, and Ken Heebner’s Capital Growth Management.
What do corporate executives and insiders think about Jones Lang LaSalle Inc (NYSE:JLL)?
Insider buying made by high-level executives is at its handiest when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the last six-month time period, Jones Lang LaSalle Inc (NYSE:JLL) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
We’ll also take a look at the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Jones Lang LaSalle Inc (NYSE:JLL). These stocks are CBRE Group Inc (NYSE:CBG), Realogy Holdings Corp (NYSE:RLGY), CoStar Group Inc (NASDAQ:CSGP), Forest City Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:FCE-A), and Icahn Enterprises LP (NASDAQ:IEP). This group of stocks are the members of the property management industry and their market caps resemble JLL’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| CBRE Group Inc (NYSE:CBG) | 23 | 0 | 0 |
| Realogy Holdings Corp (NYSE:RLGY) | 49 | 0 | 0 |
| CoStar Group Inc (NASDAQ:CSGP) | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| Forest City Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:FCE-A) | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| Icahn Enterprises LP (NASDAQ:IEP) | 4 | 0 | 0 |
Using the results demonstrated by our analyses, regular investors must always watch hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Jones Lang LaSalle Inc (NYSE:JLL) is an important part of this process.
